Taiwan | Ractopamine Hydrochloride Update | Taiwan recently notified the WTO...

Taiwan

Ractopamine Hydrochloride Update

Taiwan recently notified the WTO of its intent to develop and establish tolerance or maximum residue levels (MRLs) for ractopamine hydrochloride (RH) for imported pork products and for domestically produced products. The proposed tolerances are the same as the draft CODEX tolerance for (RH) and are the same levels utilized by Japan for imported pork products. The levels are:

Muscle- .01 ppm
Fat- .01 ppm
Liver- .04 ppm
Kidney- .09 ppm

Taiwan also announced that a comment period has been opened to the public and this period will close on Aug. 21, 2007. USMEF assumes this decision will be protested, but is hopeful that opposition will not delay the implementation of the tolerance level. The duration for this process is unknown and could be complicated by opposition, but the hope is that this will be implemented before October.

China

U.S. Plant De-listing And Suspensions Update

The situation related to residues and pathogen findings in China has escalated recently with several new U.S. facility de-listings or suspensions. The current list of facilities which have been de-listed from China can be accessed at:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/China_Requirements/index.asp

The list of pork facilities is now up to 11 and includes:

Est. 3W, Swift Pork Co., Worthington, MN
Est. 17D, John Morrell & Co., Sioux Falls, SD, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 85B, Cargill Meat Solutions, Beardstown, IL
Est. 244W, Tyson Fresh Meats, Waterloo, IA, effective June 1, 2007.
Est. 717, Farmland Foods, Denison, IA, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 717CR, Farmland Foods, Crete, NE, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 717M, Farmland Foods, Monmouth, IL, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 791, Hatfield Quality Meats, Hatfield, PA, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 17564, Indiana Packers Corp., Delphi, IN, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 18079, Smithfield Packing Co., Tar Heel, NC, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 85O, Cargill Meat Solutions, Ottumwa, IA, effective August 7, 2007

In addition, it is now unclear whether casings from these facilities are eligible for China and thus USMEF advises exporters to proceed with caution.  We are working with USDA in order to gain clarification on the status of casings and will provide information as it becomes available.

The effective date referred to above is the shipping or bill of lading date according to reports from the USMEF Beijing office; meaning that products with shipping or bill of lading dates before or on the indicated effective date are still eligible to enter the customs clearance process in China.  USMEF does caution exporters that the products will still be subject to testing and shipments will be rejected for violative findings.

In addition, USMEF wants to clarify the process currently in place in China. If a facility has a shipment with a violative finding, they receive what we will refer to as a “strike”. According to the agreement reached between USDA and Chinese authorities in November 2006, USDA has 45 days upon notification of the finding to complete an investigation into the incident and to send a report of this investigation to Chinese authorities. During this period, the establishment is still eligible to ship to China and may continue to do so. If a report is not sent to China with the 45-day period, it is up to the discretion of Chinese authorities whether or not to suspend the facility.  Regardless of the report, the facility still has one strike for an undetermined amount of time and any subsequent finding will result in a second strike and immediate suspension and de-listing. A list of the U.S. pork facilities that have received one strike and the date of the notification are indicated below for reference; these facilities have not received a second strike.

Seaboard                                  Est. 13597        notified by PRC on 12/20/06
John Morrell                              Est. 5804          notified by PRC on 12/20/06
Smithfield                                 Est. 221A          notified by PRC on 12/20/06
Triumph                                    Est. 31965        notified by PRC on 7/13/07
Clougherty                                Est. 360            notified by PRC on 8/7/07
Swift                                         Est. 3S             notified by PRC on 8/15/07
Smithfield/PSF                          Est. 320M         notified by PRC on 8/15/07
Quality Pork (Hormel)                 Est. 1620          notified by PRC on 8/15/07
Greenwood                                Est. 242            notified by PRC on 8/15/07
Hormel                                      Est. 199N          notified by PRC on 8/15/07

We are continuing to work with industry groups and representative organizations along with the U.S. government in an effort to develop a strategy for progressing and resolving this issue and we will keep all posted on developments.

Taiwan

Ractopamine Hydrochloride Update

Taiwan recently notified the WTO of its intent to develop and establish tolerance or maximum residue levels (MRLs) for ractopamine hydrochloride (RH) for imported pork products and for domestically produced products. The proposed tolerances are the same as the draft CODEX tolerance for (RH) and are the same levels utilized by Japan for imported pork products. The levels are:

Muscle- .01 ppm
Fat- .01 ppm
Liver- .04 ppm
Kidney- .09 ppm

Taiwan also announced that a comment period has been opened to the public and this period will close on Aug. 21, 2007. USMEF assumes this decision will be protested, but is hopeful that opposition will not delay the implementation of the tolerance level. The duration for this process is unknown and could be complicated by opposition, but the hope is that this will be implemented before October.

China

U.S. Plant De-listing And Suspensions Update

The situation related to residues and pathogen findings in China has escalated recently with several new U.S. facility de-listings or suspensions. The current list of facilities which have been de-listed from China can be accessed at:

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Regulations_&_Policies/China_Requirements/index.asp

The list of pork facilities is now up to 11 and includes:

Est. 3W, Swift Pork Co., Worthington, MN
Est. 17D, John Morrell & Co., Sioux Falls, SD, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 85B, Cargill Meat Solutions, Beardstown, IL
Est. 244W, Tyson Fresh Meats, Waterloo, IA, effective June 1, 2007.
Est. 717, Farmland Foods, Denison, IA, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 717CR, Farmland Foods, Crete, NE, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 717M, Farmland Foods, Monmouth, IL, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 791, Hatfield Quality Meats, Hatfield, PA, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 17564, Indiana Packers Corp., Delphi, IN, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 18079, Smithfield Packing Co., Tar Heel, NC, effective August 15, 2007.
Est. 85O, Cargill Meat Solutions, Ottumwa, IA, effective August 7, 2007

In addition, it is now unclear whether casings from these facilities are eligible for China and thus USMEF advises exporters to proceed with caution.  We are working with USDA in order to gain clarification on the status of casings and will provide information as it becomes available.

The effective date referred to above is the shipping or bill of lading date according to reports from the USMEF Beijing office; meaning that products with shipping or bill of lading dates before or on the indicated effective date are still eligible to enter the customs clearance process in China.  USMEF does caution exporters that the products will still be subject to testing and shipments will be rejected for violative findings.

In addition, USMEF wants to clarify the process currently in place in China. If a facility has a shipment with a violative finding, they receive what we will refer to as a “strike”. According to the agreement reached between USDA and Chinese authorities in November 2006, USDA has 45 days upon notification of the finding to complete an investigation into the incident and to send a report of this investigation to Chinese authorities. During this period, the establishment is still eligible to ship to China and may continue to do so. If a report is not sent to China with the 45-day period, it is up to the discretion of Chinese authorities whether or not to suspend the facility.  Regardless of the report, the facility still has one strike for an undetermined amount of time and any subsequent finding will result in a second strike and immediate suspension and de-listing. A list of the U.S. pork facilities that have received one strike and the date of the notification are indicated below for reference; these facilities have not received a second strike.

Seaboard                                  Est. 13597        notified by PRC on 12/20/06
John Morrell                              Est. 5804          notified by PRC on 12/20/06
Smithfield                                 Est. 221A          notified by PRC on 12/20/06
Triumph                                    Est. 31965        notified by PRC on 7/13/07
Clougherty                                Est. 360            notified by PRC on 8/7/07
Swift                                         Est. 3S             notified by PRC on 8/15/07
Smithfield/PSF                          Est. 320M         notified by PRC on 8/15/07
Quality Pork (Hormel)                 Est. 1620          notified by PRC on 8/15/07
Greenwood                                Est. 242            notified by PRC on 8/15/07
Hormel                                      Est. 199N          notified by PRC on 8/15/07

We are continuing to work with industry groups and representative organizations along with the U.S. government in an effort to develop a strategy for progressing and resolving this issue and we will keep all posted on developments.